2007 Hyundai i30 SX - $18,990EGC

Hyundai i30

THE i30 was a real coming-of-age model for Hyundai. Despite having had a market presence in Australia for more than two decades, it wasn't until the i30 was released in 2007 that buyers began to take Hyundai more seriously.

There had been glimpses of such maturity before: cars such as the Accent, which moved the South Korean brand closer to the leader of the pack in that segment. But only the i30 was a complete enough package to really do the trick.

That the i30 is Hyundai's best car is beyond dispute. But how good is it and is it worth shortlisting as a relatively new second-hand buy?

One of the i30's major selling points was its appearance. It's a bit derivative, with some Mazda around the nose and a big serve of BMW 1-Series in the flanks and tailgate but it's still a good-looking car. As a five-door hatchback it made sense for the young families it was aimed at.

The SX was the entry-level version and was directed at those who still held on to the notion that a Hyundai was all about sharp pricing and little else. Even so, it incorporated power windows and mirrors, remote central locking and air-conditioning as well as a decent level of trim materials and a classy feel, thanks partly to the blue instrument lighting.

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The next step up was the SLX, which added climate-control air, cruise control, 16-inch alloy wheels, a trip computer and foglights. Even more significantly, the SLX also got you side and head airbags.

Something sportier? Then the SR (pictured) was the i30 for you. It got 17-inch alloy wheels and a body kit, including a rear spoiler. Mechanically, it was the same package as the SX and SLX, apart from the addition of stability control, which would have been a big plus on the lesser models.

Perhaps the i30's biggest trump card was the choice of a turbo-diesel engine, launched at a time when the country was going nuts for diesel passenger cars.

The basic petrol engine was a two-litre that produced 105kW and put the Hyundai about on par with its competitors. While it was certainly powerful enough, the petrol engine could be a little harsh when pushed above about 4500rpm and the gearshift wasn't as slick as some of the Japanese contenders.

But the turbo-diesel is the one everybody was talking about. Despite being just 1.6 litres, the diesel shunted out 85kW of power and a handy 255Nm of torque for an effortless feel.

Available on the SX and SLX, the only real downside to the turbo-diesel engine was that it was only offered with the five-speed manual, while the petrol version could also be had as a four-speed automatic. In a world where a lot of younger drivers don't want to (or can't) cope with a manual gearbox, that's an important factor to consider.

By the time the i30 came along, Hyundai had been selling cars here long enough to know that what works for other markets doesn't always work here. So the company took the time to calibrate the suspension for local conditions, notably the coarse-chip bitumen surfaces we're so familiar with.

In terms of the ride-and-handling equation, the i30 is a lot closer to the mark than some. It's a reasonably quiet car on surface imperfections and while it rides bigger bumps with a high degree of ability, smaller stuff can come crashing through into the cabin. The steering lacks that final dollop of driver involvement but, to be fair, many will never notice that.

So, the Hyundai i30 was the best the company had produced. And since its cars have always apart from a couple of hiccups been fairly reliable, it shouldn't come as any surprise to find that the i30 seems similarly durable.

The big complaint from owners has been a level of rack-rattle a distinct knocking noise from the front suspension over short, sharp bumps, usually with some steering angle applied.

Plenty of cars suffer from this but in the i30's case, it seems some examples are worse than others. In fact, some cars were so bad Hyundai has replaced the steering rack. It seemed to affect early-built cars the most.

The ideal safeguard is to drive the i30 up a winding road and listen for a knocking sound as you tip the car in and out of corners. Powering out of a corner with a lumpy surface is the prime spot for the noise to crop up and it's up to you whether you can live with it or not.

The engine and gearbox have so far proved to be reliable and the important factor to consider is whether you really need the turbo-diesel engine. It will cost less to run on a day-to-day basis but servicing costs will be higher than for the petrol engine, which, after all, does the job.

Despite having more electrical gear than any small-medium Hyundai before it, we haven't heard of too many problems with the i30's standard equipment, except the ignition key.

The i30's key is coded with a chip that talks to the car and, among other things, disarms the immobiliser when you're ready to start the engine. But it seems that some keys can suffer the worst kind of electrical fault, the intermittent failure.

Some mechanics have diagnosed faulty fuel pumps, only to discover later that the immobiliser is really at fault (it shuts off the fuel pump as part of its role in preventing the car being stolen). In some cases, the problem has turned out to be the steering column antenna, which is designed to pick up the coded signal from the key. A few of these have been replaced to cure the same set of symptoms.

The quick solution is to try the spare key. If it works and the car starts, you can be reasonably sure the main ignition key is at fault. If not, you could be looking at a dud antenna or something else.

The only problem with that strategy is some Hyundai dealers only supplied a single coded key when the cars were bought new. Arm-twisting by owners usually resulted in a second key being forthcoming but it seems that if you didn't ask, you simply didn't get.

The main interior gripe seems to be plastics, which are prone to scratching or marking. The fascia of the stereo can be a scratch-magnet and even the interior trim panels mark easily and obviously and the dark colour scheme doesn't help.

The other big advantage the Hyundai has over some of its competition is a tremendous factory warranty. With five years of warranty (and unlimited kilometres), even the oldest i30 will still have about three years of factory cover to run. And that has to be a major point in the car's favour as a second-hand proposition.